# Firearms Act 1968, Section 57A: Exception for airsoft guns

Extent: E+W+S

(1) An “airsoft gun” is not to be regarded as a firearm for the purposes of this Act.
(2) An “airsoft gun” is a barrelled weapon of any description which—
(a) is designed to discharge only a small plastic missile (whether or not it is also capable of discharging any other kind of missile), and
(b) is not capable of discharging a missile (of any kind) with kinetic energy at the muzzle of the weapon that exceeds the permitted level.
(3) “Small plastic missile” means a missile that—
(a) is made wholly or partly from plastics,
(b) is spherical, and
(c) does not exceed 8 millimetres in diameter.
(4) The permitted kinetic energy level is—
(a) in the case of a weapon which is capable of discharging two or more missiles successively without repeated pressure on the trigger, 1.3 joules;
(b) in any other case, 2.5 joules.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/27/section/57A (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/firearms-act-1968/section-57A
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.